


Is that all you got?

by gayvodkalarry



Category: One Direction (Band), Zayn (musician)
Genre: LMAO, M/M, University AU, also, anddd smut?, enjoy reading!, fluff too, fun I guess, haha okay so, harry’s the charming type, im new, its light, louis’ the sassy one, okay so, or do theyy, please be nice to me lmao, they hate each other oof, this story is not about me, yes smut, ziam (yay)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-23
Packaged: 2019-10-02 03:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17256887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gayvodkalarry/pseuds/gayvodkalarry
Summary: “Ay, Tomlinson, what are you doing at this esteemed university?” The ‘enemy’ commented, a smirk on his face.Louis pushed aside his luggage and walked towards the curly haired lad.“Was that meant to be an insult, Styles?” Louis countered, raising an eyebrow, an amused look on his face.“Yes?” Harry nodded, confused as he scrunched up his nose.“Well, did you come up with that in two seconds? Because that was horrendous.” Louis snapped, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.Harry blinked twice, as he shifted from foot to foot, then: “Actually, I did come up with that in two seconds.” and Niall laughed in the background.Louis hummed, as he slid closer to the taller lad with a challenging look in his eyes.“I’m giving you 24 hours, a whole day, to come up with something better. Tomorrow, hit me with your best shot,” he grinned, and suddenly, with his luggage and Niall, he disappeared into the dorm.“Hey, Liam?” Harry called, a determined look on his face.Liam raised his head from his phone, raising an eyebrow at his best mate. Such exchanges were a daily routine for him.“Look up some ‘smart ass insults’ on the Internet for me please,”





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for clicking on this story! hope you like it! :)  
> I’m really nervous sksks
> 
> please leave your honest opinion I’m only sixteen years old :) aha

**I**

 

“Yes, mum, I’ll be back to visit when I get the time,” Louis whispered in Johannah’s hair.  
“Now, only if you let me go,” he struggled to get out of his mum’s loving but kind of choking grasp, as she wiped away her tears.

Louis couldn’t see her cry. Or he would cry too. So, he turned around and waved, not looking at her face as she attempted to stop the tears.

Louis’ body was apparently a traitor, because he found himself sniffing.

Goodbyes were always the hardest.

It had been two years since Louis was going to university. It was his third year there this time. And every single time, saying goodbye to his family was the toughest part.

He sneaked a glance at all his siblings who were stood together in a corner, waving him goodbye.

Daisy seemed to be tearing up, and Louis looked away.

It was the toughest part. Always.

“Bye!” He shouted, which might have come out as a strangled cry, but he didn’t dwell on it, as he rushed out of the house to greet Niall, who was waiting by his car.

“I think we need to get you out of here, mate.” Niall spoke, noticing the tears that had escaped from Louis’ eyes.

Louis didn’t waste another minute, as he kept all of his belongings in the back of the car and proceeded to sit in the passenger seat, closing the door after him.

His family was stood by the door of their house, all of them waving him and Niall goodbye.

Lottie smiled reassuringly at him, and he definitely felt better.

He waved back timidly, and then they were off.

Louis tried his best to wipe away the tears that threatened to fall. He looked out of the window, staring at the view outside as Niall sped past the houses and trees.

“How do you think it’s going to be this year?” Niall asked, breaking the silence.

“It’s going to be like it is every year, Niall,” Louis rolled his eyes, trying to act nonchalant about it, but secretly, the No Fear Tomlinson was also nervous about the year to come. Of course, he couldn’t voice that thought.

“They said they’re shifting everyone to another building.” Niall informed, his eyes on the road, a relaxed look on his face.

“Wait, so new roommates?” Louis asked, his eyebrows furrowed. He wasn’t aware about this.

“Nah, mate, you aren’t getting rid of me so easily,” Niall laughed, his carefree nature showing.  
“They’re keeping the same roommates, we’re just being shifted to the third year building.” He clarified.

A look of realisation crossed Louis’ face as he ‘ohhhh’ed.

“We’ll have to go to the reception desk first, then.” He concluded, as a yawn escaped his lips.

“Yeah,” Niall confirmed, and it was a comfortable silence again.

*

“Mr Horan and Mr Tomlinson?” The lady at the reception desk spoke.

“Yes, that would be us.” Niall nodded his head, offering a hand to take the keys.

She gave it to him with a tight smile.  
“Building 7, dorm 209.” She said.

Niall gave her his award winning smile in return which may or may not have made the receptionist smile wider, and turned around to head to their new dorm.

Louis rolled his eyes at the exchange and followed.

Niall whistled all the way, until they reached their hallway.

“I don’t want to alarm you or anything, but Lou, your favourite person in the world is right there,” Niall hissed, making Louis groan.

He fully recognised Niall’s humour and dreaded the person he would have to face.

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked up to meet the emerald eyes he loved to hate.

Rolling his eyes, he looked away as quickly as he had even looked at that boy.

“Oh, Liam’s there too,” Niall noticed the slightly buff fellow standing beside Louis’ ‘mortal enemy’, who was paying absolutely zero attention to what Harry was on about.

“Ay, Tomlinson, what are _you_ doing at this esteemed university?” The ‘enemy’ commented, a smirk on his face.

Louis pushed aside his luggage and walked towards the curly haired lad.

“Was that meant to be an insult, Styles?” Louis countered, raising an eyebrow, an amused look on his face.

“Yes?” Harry nodded, confused as he scrunched up his nose.

“Well, did you come up with that in what, two seconds? Because that was absolutely horrendous.” Louis snapped, rolling his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

Harry blinked twice, as he shifted from foot to foot, before slowing saying: “Actually, I did come up with that in two seconds.” and Niall laughed in the background.

Louis hummed, trying not to laugh, as he slid closer to the slightly taller lad with a challenging look in his eyes.

“I’m giving you 24 hours, one whole day, Styles, to come up with something better. Tomorrow, hit me with your best shot,” he grinned, and suddenly, with his luggage and Niall, he disappeared into the dorm.

“Hey, Liam?” Harry called, a determined look on his face as his eyebrows furrowed.

Liam raised his head from his phone, raising an eyebrow at his best mate. Such exchanges were sort of a daily routine for him.

“Look up some ‘smart ass insults’ on the Internet for me please,”

*

“Honestly, why do you guys even hate each other?” Niall asked, closing the door behind him.

“It’s fun,” Louis replied after a while, as he looked around their new room.

“Mate, they gave us a T.V,” Niall said, his eyes twinkling and wide as he stared at the sleek screen in front of him.

The two of them looked at each other with a knowing look and then: “I call the room TV!” Louis said, the same time Niall shouted: “This one’s mine!”

“I’m _not_ going to the common room again,” Louis declared, exasperated.  
“Well, mate, I’m not going there either,” Niall shrugged, waiting for Louis to pick a fight.

Louis stared at Niall as he stared back, both of them waiting to see who would win.

Finally, Louis dropped it.  
“Whatever, we’ll watch the same thing then.” He sighed, choosing the right side of the room to place his belongings.  
Niall automatically claimed the left, and dumped his bags on the bed.

“I’m heading out!” He called, opening the main door.  
“Where to?” Louis asked, searching through his bag for his headphones.

“Going to meet some girls, do some stuff,” Niall replied vaguely, not waiting for an answer as he shut the door.

Louis sighed at his best friend’s behaviour fondly, before continuing with his search.

After fifteen minutes of music in an empty room, Louis started feeling bored. Music was great, but the lack of company was stronger.

So, with a little sigh, he stood up from his bed and made his way outside.

*

“Hey, Louis, man, have you seen Liam?” Zayn asked, placing a gentle but firm hand in Louis’ shoulder to make sure he was heard over the music blasting through his headphones.

Louis pushed his headphones down and looked at Zayn.

“Ah, I see you haven’t lost the leather jacket,” he remarked, raising an eyebrow at the raven-haired boy.

“Never,” Zayn grinned, giving his jacket a hitch.

Once, in their second year of uni, Zayn had run out of cigarettes. Louis had some, and sharing is caring and all that, and they ended up getting high together every time after that.

Weird relationship, yes.

(Some deep secrets were revealed too)

“And no, I haven’t seen Liam.” Louis replied to Zayn’s first question.  
“He’s got the keys and that fucker’s not in the room.” Zayn spoke, frustrated, as he lightly rugged at his hair.

Louis chuckled, letting out a yawn.  
“Go check with the devil.” He spoke with distaste, his mouth curling into a snarl, like taking that name would be a sin.

“The devil? Really Lou?” Zayn laughed, clutching his stomach by instinct as he continued to laugh attractively. Yes, attractively.

Louis rolled his eyes, having no intention of changing his words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


	2. Chapter 2

 

**II**

 

“Classes don’t start until next week!” Niall exclaimed, falling down on his bed with a thud.  
“Yeah, I know, Niall.” Louis spoke, as he bent down to tie his shoe laces.

“We should go somewhere, do something, behave like the college students we are.” Niall sighed, looking up at the plain white ceiling.

“We could go to that café if you like,” Louis suggested, standing up and running a hand through his hair.

“Yeah! When?” Niall sat up, a wide smile on his face at the mention of getting out of the room.

“After I come back? I’m going for a quick smoke.” Louis said, checking the time on his watch.

“Lou,” Niall said softly, warningly, staring him down.  
“I know,” Louis drawled, pouting a little.  
“I know it’s bad for my health and everything, but I don’t do it all the time! Just sometimes,” he offered, giving Niall a sheepish smile with a timid thumbs up.

Niall sighed, shaking his head, but who are we kidding? That’s Niall, of course he couldn’t keep up his serious demeanour, of course his face broke into a smile.

“Say hi to Zayn from me,” he finally said, looking up at Louis.

Louis grinned back at him, nodding his head enthusiastically.  
“Will do!” He shouted, before closing the door behind him.

*

“Liam was at Harry’s then,” Zayn broke the silence, lighting up his cigarette.  
Louis hummed, not dwelling on the mention of Harry Styles.

They walked down the empty road, away from campus, as they talked about nothing and everything.

“How’ve you been?” Zayn asked seriously, furrowing his eyebrows and looking at Louis.

Sharing a cigarette was one thing, but it had made them quite the pair.

Louis genuinely loved Zayn, he was a great friend, and Zayn felt the same too.

“I’ve been okay.” Louis sighed, opening his mouth to let the smoke escape before continuing.  
“Mum cried again, when I was leaving today.” He stated, kicking a tiny stone out of his way.

Zayn placed a comforting arm around Louis’ neck, and hugged him.  
“And the siblings?” He asked, biting his lip like he always did.

“They were okay, but almost all of them were about to cry.” Louis answered truthfully.

Zayn knew everything about him, really. Niall was Louis’ best mate, true, but Zayn knew things Louis wouldn’t say when sober. There was no point hiding anything from Zayn anyway, he always knew when anyone was lying.

“What about you? Was Safaa okay?” Louis trailed off, looking sideways at Zayn, waiting for him to answer.

“It’s always hard saying goodbye, yeah?” Zayn commented, sighing as he took out a second cigarette.

Louis nodded his head slowly, his lips pursed into a thin line, the cigarette in his left hand.

“My family was like, they were fine, you know? Because obviously, I had to go back to university to study, right? But Safaa, she just, she wasn’t willing to let me go—hugged me so tight, that one, I actually thought I’ll stay.” Zayn chuckled humourlessly, putting one hand inside his pocket and keeping it there.

Louis chuckled along with him, patting his mate on the back with a firm nod, comforting him with his eyes, the way words couldn’t.

“Come on, we should go, I told Niall we’d go to Delight,” Louis said, throwing the cigarette on the ground and stamping on it with his foot.

Zayn smiled at the mention of Niall. Niall was a good lad, cheerful one.

“Oh, and Niall says hi to you,” Louis spoke, remembering what his roommate had said.

“Tell him I say hi too,” Zayn smiled, as they made their way back to campus.

*

“Hey, Louis,” a voice said, interrupting Niall’s speech about how this woman at the club kept hitting on him.  
Not to mention, it was a voice both Louis and Niall knew very well.

“Um, hello, Bryce,” Louis looked up, greeting the blond haired lad with a forced smile.  
Niall groaned shamelessly. Honestly, Louis wanted to do the same.

Bryce had been ‘in love’ with Louis since he came to university. He worked as a barista at this café which just happened to be Louis’ favourite. He had first confessed his love for Louis on the fourth day of college, and like, Louis hadn’t even _done_ anything to make Bryce fall in love with him. He internally groaned. After that, he had admitted his feelings on multiple occasions.

“How were your holidays?” Bryce asked, a wide smile on his face. Louis wanted to flip him off, grab Niall by the arm and bolt out of the café without paying for their drinks, and never return. But he did none of that, cause Louis wasn’t mean (ha!).

“Good, yeah, just chillin’ with family, you?” He asked politely, attempting to smile back.

“Oh, nice, I spent almost all my time practising football.” Bryce answered, a smirk on his face.

See? He was bragging. He knew Louis loved playing football himself. Louis nodded and took out some money from his wallet.

“Right, so, it was nice seeing ya, and we should leave now. Right, Niall?” Louis asked with gritted teeth, burning holes into Niall’s bored and stooping self.

Niall bolted upright, nodding his head vigorously, relief shown clear on his face.  
“Totally!” He answered, very very eager to get out of there, and honestly, Louis was, too.

*

“Holy shit!” Louis cursed as hot coffee spilled on his shirt. It was burning hot, and Louis was ready to smack whoever pulled such shit.

“Whoops.” A deep voice said, not sounding sorry at all, as an amused look greeted Louis.

“You fucker!” Louis swore, glaring daggers at none other than Harry Styles.  
Harry laughed. He had the audacity to _laugh_.

“I was going to say ‘sorry’ but then I saw it was you, so I said ‘whoops’ cause I’m not sorry,” He explained lamely, as he continued to laugh.

Louis’ face contorted into an irritated one as he looked at the devil that was Styles.

He realised they were blocking the entrance to the café Louis had been desperately trying to flee from, and stepped aside. He mentally cursed at Niall for leaving him alone to deal with Harry Styles alone.

“Oh, no, Louis, how did that happen?”

Oh, so Harry Styles _and_ Bryce alone.

Fuck you, Niall.

“Nah, don’t worry, mate, he can take that. I was just giving his cold heart some warmth.” The green eyed devil commented.

“Would you just keep your mouth shut for a minute?” Louis hissed, as he examined the spill.

Harry only chuckled.

Bryce disappeared, muttering something about getting a product to clean the stain.

Louis sat down on a chair near by, as he frowned with a pout.

Why did Harry Styles have to ruin everything? Every time?

Harry conveniently took a seat beside him, looking innocent as he charmingly smiled at the random girls who walked into the café.

“Who gave you the permission to sit next to me?” Louis said crossly, pinching his shirt away from his body.

“Woah, who are you? The Queen?” Harry snorted, making himself more comfortable.

“I’d rather be called a King but okay.” Louis rolled his eyes, getting impatient with the stain.

“Do you guys want to order something?” A waitress smiled down at them, holding a tiny notepad to write their orders down.

“No, love, we’re fine, thank you,” Harry smiled, showing his dimples and everything. The waitress beamed, shaking her head as if trying to say that it was no problem.

Louis rolled his eyes at the whole exchange.  
“Such a flirt, Styles.” He further commented, scoffing, after the lady left the table.

“Flirt? It’s called being _nice_ , which you obviously won’t know about.” Harry actually looked offended, and Louis had to laugh at that face.

Harry looked away from Louis, crossing his arms over his chest as if upset.

“Damn, Styles, I mean, sorry, mate, you get offended too easily.” Louis raised both his hands as if surrendering, and in that process, the stained shirt stuck to his body, making him hiss.

Harry let out a chuckle at that.

“Here! This should help!” Bryce came back running, with some bottle filled with blue liquid in his hand.

“Um, I can’t possibly apply that while I’m wearing the shirt, can I?” Louis asked curiously, biting his lip.

“Oh, no, I don’t think so. We can go to the storage room if you like.” Bryce suggested, pointing to a closed door that said ‘For Staff Only’.

“Or I could go home,” Louis made a face, groaning.

He didn’t understand why he had spent so much time conversing with _Harry_ _Styles_ rather than going to his room and changing into another shirt.

“Let’s go to the storage room!” Harry decided, and Bryce nodded willingly, as both of them urged Louis to stand up.

Louis looked at Harry, annoyed, as if to say: what’s your deal?

Harry shrugged, pulling Louis by his wrist and dragging him to the storage room.

Bryce closed the door behind him.

“Um, guys? I think I can handle it from here,” Louis chuckled uncomfortably, clutching his shirt.

He didn’t want to undress in front of anyone. Especially these two people.

“No, you’ll need help,” Bryce said, handing Louis the liquid.

“Ooooh, I’ve always wanted to see what Louis Tomlinson looks like naked!” Harry shouted in a very poorly attempted high pitched voice, his eyes wide as he bit his lip, _trying_ to enact some girl.

Bryce then blushed.

Oh, wait, he’s in love with Louis.

Louis never thought he could forget something like that, but looks like Harry Styles’ presence made you forget everything (in a bad way, of course).

“No, but really, you guys can go. Bryce, you must be having work, and Styles, I don’t want you to be here,” Louis snapped, giving Harry the most fake smile to ever exist.

Harry raised his eyebrows, slightly taken aback, but that expression was washed away as soon as it came as he replaced it with a wide, unaffected smile.

“I think I’m going to stay,” he said, sitting down on one of the boxes.  
Louis really wished that the box was empty and Harry Styles would’ve fallen into it. That would’ve been something. Only the thought made Louis laugh.

“Are you sure? I’ll have someone cover for me,” Bryce offered, and Louis thought, screw it, as he shook his head and took off his shirt in one go.

He picked up the bottle he had kept aside and opened it.

“So, what exactly do I do?” He looked up at Bryce, who was currently gaping at him, the blush going all the way down to his neck.

“Er, Bryce?” Louis called, waving at him, trying to be heard.

Louis felt flushed himself too, there were two pairs of eyes on him, and he never actually felt comfortable, having his body on display.

Louis turned to Harry Styles, to find him staring with one eyebrow raised. That was a weird reaction.

“Um,” Louis cleared his throat to speak again.  
“Bryce?”

Finally, Bryce snapped out of it, and walked closer to Louis, taking the shirt from his hands.

“I’ll do it,” he volunteered, quietly applying the liquid on the stain and watching it do its job.

Louis didn’t say a word, but the uncomfortable silence in the room was killing him.

“I’m just gonna go,” Harry muttered softly, standing up and rushing out of the store room.

Louis frowned, what happened to Styles?

“Here,” Bryce said, handing him the shirt. He looked a little too happy, seeing that they were alone.

“Yeah, thanks, man.” Louis gave him a tight smile, taking the shirt and putting it on.

“I should go now. Thanks again!” Louis called, making a run for the door as he finally exited the café.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! hope you liked it :)
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


	3. Chapter 3

 

**III**

 

“There you are!” Louis shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Niall who was lying down on his bed, looking into his phone.

Niall looked up at Louis, trying to figure out what the fuss was about.

“You left me all alone to face Harry Styles and Bryce, _together_!” Louis exclaimed, groaning, and Niall raised both his eyebrows, sitting up.

“Sorry, mate, I just wanted to get out of there,” Niall shrugged, yawning.

Louis sighed, sitting back down on his bed and closing his eyes, leaning his head against the wall.

“We should go for dinner,” Niall suggested meekly, standing up from his bed and making his way to the door, his hands up in defence, just in case Louis lashed out and hit him with a shoe.

“I’m too tired,” Louis sighed, his eyes opening lesser every time he blinked.

“Aw, come on, Lou, you can’t not eat dinner, we’ll go to your favourite diner _and_ order your favourite food.” Niall offered, waiting for a response.

Louis finally stood up, shaking his head from side to side, trying to get himself to be more awake.

“Yeah, that’s the spirit, mate,” Niall commented, smiling, pulling his best mate in for a warm hug, which Louis didn’t even try to resist, finding closure in the Irish man’s arms.

*

“Can I join you guys?” A voice said, interrupting Niall’s speech about how this woman at the club kept hitting on him.

Niall groaned, before looking at Louis with a tired look.  
“I feel like I’m not _meant_ to tell you about the woman who kept hitting on me,” he let out a chuckle.

Louis laughed along lightly, his eyes still heavy as he looked up at the person who had interrupted them.

“Oh, Liam, mate, of course you can join us,” Louis gave him a smile, and it wasn’t forced this time, as he scooted further into the booth to let the buff lad fit in.

“Hi, mate, how’s it going?” Niall asked, a wide smile on his face as he high-fived Liam.

Liam smiled back, his eyes crinkling, as he shrugged lightly.  
“Just fine, all settled in and everything with the new rooms.”

Niall nodded his head, listening to every word.

“Oh, by the way, if you guys don’t mind, Zayn’s actually going to be joining us,” Liam spoke, looking at the two of them for some sort of approval.

“Well, yeah, mate, that’s awesome,” Niall said, a twinkle in his eye.

Zayn was amazing. Who didn’t like Zayn?

“Oh, look, there he is,” Louis said, spotting the attractive boy as he walked into the diner, that smouldering look on his face as he looked for someone familiar.

On spotting Liam, he smiled brightly, and made his way to their table.

“Hey, lads, all good?” He asked, scooting in beside Niall, ruffling his hair in the process.

Niall looked sideways and smiled at Zayn, who returned the smile just as widely.

“Harry said he’ll take a while,” Zayn informed them, mainly Liam, as he took out his phone from his pocket.

Niall looked at Louis with both his eyebrows raised, who just shrugged and shook his head, rolling his eyes.

Louis was tired, and wasn’t willing to bare with Harry Styles’ bullshit.

“So, what are we having?” Liam asked cheerfully, looking at each one of them with a smile.

“Ah, Liam, please stop being such a delight all the time,” Louis groaned, his palm covering his face, as he then put his head down on the table.

Liam only laughed, shrugging.  
“Well, someone has to lift up the mood,” he justified.

“Louis said he wanted to have Indian food,” Niall spoke, tapping his fingers on the table. Louis glared at him for that. Niall immediately took his hand away from the table.

Nobody, absolutely nobody wanted to face Louis’ wrath if he got mad.

“Then Indian it is,” Liam declared as they quickly decided the dishes and ordered.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” A voice said, and Louis raised his head to glare at that bastard.

“Well, you’re too late cause there’s no seat left,” he mumbled, clearly annoyed with just Harry’s presence.

“What’s got up _your_ ass?” Harry frowned, his voice going a pitch higher, expressing his annoyance.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe I just _hate_ it when you’re around,” Louis replied, exasperated as he rolled his eyes.

“Aw, come on, Lou, don’t be like that. We can make some space for Harry here,” Liam tried to convince Louis, nudging him gently to shift further in.

Louis groaned, obeying. He didn’t really have a choice, did he?

Harry dropped onto the seat, sighing in irritation.

“I want to sit inside,” Harry said with a frown.

“What’s with both of you acting like babies today?” Zayn asked, confused, as he raised his hands in question.

Harry didn’t reply, nor did Louis, as both of them continued to glare into space.

Niall sighed, shaking his head. He felt like a father, honestly, kids these days.

He stood up and motioned for Zayn to get out of the booth.  
“These kids are too stubborn,” he commented, getting out of the booth.

“There, Harry, you can go sit inside.”

“Thanks,” Harry muttered, making his way to the inside of the booth which just happened to be on the opposite side of Louis.

*

Louis quietly picked at his food, his eyes drooping, as he zoned out of the conversation.

All of them knew it was wise to leave him alone.

Well, almost all of them.

Louis suddenly felt someone kick him under the table.  
“What the fuck?” He whined, looking up at Harry who was pretending that he hadn’t done a thing.

“Styles,” Louis muttered, angry and irritated and annoyed and every emotion that is felt when one is sleepy, hungry and feels like pulling his hair out.

“Yes?” Harry replied, a calm smile on his face as he looked at Louis.

“Oh, whatever,” Louis mumbled, looking back down at his food, his energy level lowest.

He wasn’t going to let Harry feel the satisfaction of knowing that he had indeed, pissed Louis off.

Harry frowned.

Wasn’t that supposed to get a rise out of Louis?

Niall nudged him a little, giving him a warning look, as if telling him to stop before Louis choked him to death.

Harry raised both his eyebrows, finally leaving Louis alone.

*

“Today is the big day, mate,” Niall grinned, pulling his shirt over his head.

“What’s today?” Louis asked, running his fingers through his hair, his eyes focused on the mirror in front of him.

“Don’t tell me you forgot, you started it!” Niall laughed, like he couldn’t believe Louis.  
“No, Niall, I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about,” Louis shrugged, dropping the subject as his main focus was to get the quiff he was trying for today right.

Niall sighed, chuckling under his breath, spraying a little cologne all over.

“It’s going to be a shocker for you today, then,” he commented, a twinkle in his eye as he sat down to wear his shoes.

Louis ignored him, smiling at his beautiful reflection with pride.

Finally got the quiff right. Yay.

“Let’s go for breakfast?” Louis turned around, both his eyebrows raised in question.

“Yeah, okay, Delight?” Niall asked, mentioning Louis’ favourite café.

Louis’ facial expression changed completely.  
“Oh, shit, I forgot we’ll have to go there again!” He exclaimed, placing his palm on his forehead.

Niall furrowed his eyebrows.  
“What do you mean? Bryce? You have encounters like that with him all the time. I don’t see what the problem is,” he looked at Louis, waiting for an answer.

“Nah, mate, it was after you left,” Louis tried to explain, not wanting to go into detailed description.

“You’re acting like he saw you naked or summat,” Niall rolled his eyes at his best friend’s dramatic nature, his weight shifting from foot to foot.

“He kind of did,” Louis quietly mumbled, bending down to tie his shoe laces.

“What was that?” Niall did a double take, his eyes as wide as an owl’s.

“Huh? Nothing,” Louis attempted a smile, and kind of failed.

“No, no no, I definitely heard something. What did you say?” Niall raised an eyebrow in suspicion, waiting for Louis to answer.

He sighed, covering his face with his palms.  
“I said, he kind of did,”

“What? He kind of saw you _naked_?” Niall shouted, and Louis ran towards him to cover his mouth.

“Stop being so loud, and I said ‘kind of’.” Louis clarified, looking around their room, where obviously, no one else was there.

“Kngd ow?” Niall said, his voice muffled by Louis’ hand on his mouth.

He took his hand away.  
“Kind of?” Niall repeated, confused.  
“So like, you didn’t remove your shirt...?” He asked, genuinely curious.

Louis’ eyes widened at the very strong implication as he vigorously shook his head from side to side.

“No! I was only shirtless!” He tried to explain, eyes still wide.

“Oh, so only making out then,” Niall concluded, nodding his head, in deep thought.

“No! What the fuck, Niall? I would never do that with him!” Louis shouted, shaking his head, his eyes tightly shut, as if trying to get rid of the images in his mind.

“Then what? I’m so confused,” Niall said, letting out a couple confused chuckles, his eyebrows furrowed.

“Styles dropped coffee on my shirt and Bryce got some liquid to remove the stain. I couldn’t apply the liquid with my shirt on so he saw me shirtless.” Louis summarised in a hurry, biting his lip.

Realisation crossed Niall’s face for a second before the confused look was back.  
“Why couldn’t you just come back here, to the room, and change?” He asked, making a face.

“Yeah, I don’t know either, drop it, let’s go.” Louis said, rushing to open the door and get out.

Niall followed after a minute of confused silence from his end.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading! :)
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been a little busy, so couldn’t update sooner! sorry for that! enjoy reading! :)

 

**IV**

 

“Hey, Lou!” Bryce greeted from the service counter, making Louis’ head snap to his direction.

“Yeah, hey, man,” Louis replied, a tiny smile on his face, as he tried to keep things ‘normal’. Well, as normal as things could get when Bryce was in love with him.

“Oh, so after yesterday, he upgraded to calling you ‘Lou’?” Niall questioned, one eyebrow raised as he whispered close to Louis’ ear.

Louis shrugged, not knowing what to say, really, before walking towards their usual seat.

“Don’t remind me,” Louis made a face at Niall, fidgeting with his fingers.

Niall smiled to himself, definitely not paying any attention to what Louis was saying.

There was this twinkle in his eye which made Louis raise an eyebrow at him. But Niall didn’t see that, of course, he was busy in another world.

“Oi, what’s up with you today?” Louis asked, curiously waiting, leaning forward in his seat.

“Oh, no, nothing, mate. Just thinking,” Niall trailed off, trying to hide the smile.

“What are you thinking? I want to smile too,” Louis complained, pouting.

Niall laughed, shaking his head from side to side.

“Nah, I’m not telling ya, you’ll get to know anyway.” He shrugged, a mischievous smile on his face.

Louis huffed, there has to be something Niall was hiding.

Louis thought over all that he had said yesterday, and still couldn’t remember exactly what Niall was on about.

*

“Do you want to, like, check out the classroom and things like that?” Niall suggested, looking at Louis’ bored face.

“What? No, that’s boring. Today is boring as fuck.” He replied, making a face and yawning to prove his point.  
Niall chuckled, “Believe me, you’ll take that back,”

Louis gave Niall a confused look before shaking his head, knowing that Niall won’t answer his questions anyway.

“I’ll be back, going to use the restroom,” Louis spoke, pointing his thumb behind him randomly, before walking to the washroom at the back of the café.

“Bryce,” Louis said to the boy as a greeting, nodding his head in acknowledgment. Bryce looked like he was over the moon.

Today was so uneventful and Louis was bored out of his mind. He opened the door to the restrooms and stepped inside.

“Oh, what an honour it is to see you, Mr Tomlinson,” a smug voice spoke.  
Louis groaned aloud.

“Styles, I think you should let me have a wee in peace.” Louis rolled his eyes, looking at the boy who was fixing his hair in the mirror.

“But where’s the fun in that?” Harry laughed, looking at his reflection one last time, before turning to Louis.

“Also, I’m ready with my line, so, whenever you want to hear it,” he added, genuinely serious.

“Um, what line?” Louis asked, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

“Stop playing with me; you know,” Harry rolled his eyes, leaning against the basins.  
“Styles, I genuinely don’t. So, if you want to explain, I’m listening, or forget it and get out.” Louis said bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You’re so rude, Louis, and no, I’m not going to explain anything to you, and I’m not telling you my line either, so fuck off,” He hit his shoulder against Louis’, hard, while walking out.

Louis stumbled back at the impact, wincing as the door slammed shut behind him.

For the first time ever, he actually felt guilty.

*

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” Louis practically screamed at Niall, tugging at his hair in frustration.

“Fuck, Niall,” Louis cursed, kicking the foot of his bed.  
“I thought he was going to tell you!” Niall reasoned helplessly, wincing as Louis kicked the bed again.

“And shouldn’t you be happy that he’s pissed? Why are you acting so strange?” Niall asked, his voice going an octave higher.

Louis sighed, and sat down on his bed, covering his face with his hands.

“I’ve really messed it up now,” he mumbled sadly.  
“He looked hurt, Niall! He was _hurt_.”

“If it’s bothering you so much, go and apologise to him, and convince him to recite his insulting one liner you challenged him to.” Niall suggested, and it actually sounded quite reasonable, but then there was Louis’ ego.

“Just forget it, mate. Harry’ll come around,” Niall said, once he saw that Louis had no reaction to his previous statement.

“I guess,” Louis reluctantly agreed, sighing, and at that very moment, his phone rang.

“Hello?” He said, his tone still miserable.  
“What did you say to him? He’s fucking mourning,” Zayn spoke, a concerned edge to his voice.

“He’s locked himself inside. God knows what he’s doing.” Liam spoke into the phone, frustrated.

Louis hoped that Liam wasn’t frustrated with him.

He cut the call, hanging up, and looked at Niall helplessly.  
“Apologise,” Niall said firmly, nodding his head in encouragement.

His phone rang again.

“No! You don’t get to hang up on us! Do you know how much he literally _prepared_ for one fucking sentence?” Liam was angry. Shit.

“He was excited the whole time and he comes back looking pissed and hurt. Louis Tomlinson, _what_ did you say to my best mate?” Liam asked, and Louis could actually see him fuming.

“I-I’m coming over,”

“Fix this,” Zayn mumbled, a lot more calmer than Liam.

Liam was usually more aggressive when it came to his friends.

“I will,” Louis answered, hanging up and running out of his dorm.

Fucking hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


	5. Chapter 5

 

**V**

 

Louis crouched away from Liam who had a dangerously blank look on his face as he stared at Louis.

“Um,” Louis spoke incoherently, stumbling past Liam to reach Harry’s door.

Zayn pulled Liam aside, whispering something in his ear which made Liam nod reluctantly.

Louis knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked harder, praying that Harry will open the door.

“Go away, Liam, I told you to stop knocking already,” Harry’s grumpy voice was heard, making Louis pout in guilt.

“It’s Louis, not Liam,” he spoke softly, leaning against the door.

He quickly moved away from the door and adjusted his shirt, biting his lip when the door opened.

“What are _you_ doing here?” Harry asked, his eyes narrowed, and... were his ears pink?

“Um, Styles, I—“

“Oh, come on, just say it,” Liam grunted in the background, and Zayn made a disbelieving face at him, telling him to shut up.

“I’m here to, uh, to say sorry?” Louis continued, more like a question, giving Harry his sheepish smile, hoping he would accept.

Harry sighed.  
“I overreacted, I know, I know; anyway, you can be on your way,” He spoke, making a dismissive motion with his hand.

“What?” Louis asked, confused, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked up at Harry.

Harry simply shrugged, his lips pursed.

Louis looked back at Liam and Zayn with wide, questioning eyes.

“Harry, just sort it out. Stop avoiding it, he’s here.” Zayn advised calmly, his artsy fingers still clutching Liam’s bicep, just in case Liam decided to attack Louis or something (always hope for the worst).

Harry sighed once again, rolling his eyes at Zayn, who only stared challengingly, before opening the door wider.

“You can come in,” He invited, shifting aside to let Louis in.

Louis brushed past Harry lightly, entering Harry’s personal dorm.

Harry bit his lip, looking nervous as he closed the door.

He didn’t say anything, only looked at Louis looking at his dorm that he had never been in before.

Louis felt Harry’s deep gaze and his eyes snapped to the curly haired boy’s.

“Oh, right, sorry,” Louis awkwardly cleared his throat, fidgeting with his shirt.

“So, um, I already said sorry, so,” Louis fumbled, licking his lips and looking away.

Why was this so awkward?

Oh, right, because their conversations were always arguments, not _apologies_.

“Right, so, have a seat,” Harry offered, pointing to his bed, the nervous energy radiating off him to Louis.

Louis nodded meekly, sitting on the edge of the bed, shifting aside a little to let Harry have a seat.

“Look, I know I overreacted, but I was really looking forward to it, you know?” Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair, sitting right beside Louis.

Louis nodded his head silently, pursing his lips as he listened.

“And then you said you didn’t remember, so I just—I guess I just sort of lost it,” he shrugged, looking at his feet.

“Yeah, I’m—I’m sorry for that, I really didn’t mean to forget. I was just tired from yesterday,” Louis tried to reason, his voice barely audible.

He thought they were sitting too close. A bit too close. Harry’s shoulder was somewhat touching Louis’ and that really was close.

“So, I guess we’re okay?” Louis asked uncertainly, his eyes flicking to Harry’s for a second before going back to his feet.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded his head, rubbing his palms on his thighs.

“Okay, Styles, I want to hear your line,” Louis said, regaining his composure he always had when with Harry Styles, as he stood up from the bed and confidently gazed at Harry with a smirk.

Harry raised an eyebrow, a smirk of his own growing on his face as he stood up, standing taller than Louis.

Harry cleared his throat dramatically.

And then: “I'd like to see things from your point of view but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass.”

And Louis laughed. He actually cracked up. Harry laughed with him, not knowing what was funny.

“Yes!” Louis shouted, offering his hand for a high-five which Harry returned, confused and beaming.

“Yes, Styles! You’ve done it!” Louis laughed, his eyes crinkling as he clutched his stomach.

Harry watched him laugh, as if he was looking at the sun.

Which he probably was.

“That was—That was great,” Louis said, trying to catch his breath, a smile on his face as he looked up at Harry.

Harry smiled somewhat shyly in return, not used to compliments, not from Louis.

“So, which site did you steal it from?” Louis smirked, placing a hand on his hip, as he waited for an answer.

Harry’s face fell, over-dramatically, as he gasped, placing his palm on his chest.

“I didn’t _steal_ it, I _used_ it. There’s a difference,” He said, offended as he pouted with his eyebrows furrowed.

Louis snorted, rolling his eyes.  
“Sure, whatever,” he commented, walking towards the door.

Harry only watched as Louis made his way to the main door.

“Also, Styles, if I give it a second thought, you could do much better,” Louis teased, nodding his head slowly, in deep thought, as he turned the handle to go outside.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Louis, biting his lip.  
“See you,” was all he said, making Louis give him another challenging brief nod, before leaving the room.

He really needed to look up some better ones now.

*

Louis sighed contently, feeling lighter as he closed the door behind him, but froze, as he accidentally met the glare of Liam Payne.

“Uh, I—We’re good!” He practically squealed, gulping, and turning to Zayn.

“He’s not going to kill me, is he?” He asked timidly, frozen still, stuck to the door behind him.

Zayn let out a chuckle, shaking his head no.

“Li, drop it,” Zayn spoke fondly, giving Liam a bright little smile which, if Louis wasn’t wrong, made Liam melt. You can’t see it with a naked eye.

“So, he’s not miserable anymore?” Liam asked Louis, raising an eyebrow, his arms crossed over his chest.

Louis shook his head vigorously, giving Liam an enthusiastic thumbs up.

“Still wanna kill me?”

“Don’t push it,” Liam groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Just checking,” Louis said cheekily, running a hand through his hair.

Zayn chuckled softly, stepping away from Liam, and Louis raised an eyebrow at the way Liam almost grabbed Zayn’s wrist to keep him close, but then decided not to, his hand recoiling.

Something was definitely fishy there. Huh.

Louis smirked knowingly at Liam, who attempted a nonchalant eye roll, but Louis would rate it a 5 on 10, because the way Liam’s cheeks turned pink was unmissable.

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

**VI**

 

“Louis!” Niall shouted, shaking his arm repeatedly, trying to wake him up.

“What?” Louis asked, groggy and irritated, as he covered his head with his pillow.  
“Wake up!” Niall said, continuing to annoy Louis, who groaned, trying to push Niall away.

“Go away, what’s the matter with you?” Louis hissed, kicking his feet randomly, hoping he’d kick Niall. He missed.

Niall snatched the pillow from Louis and cruelly pulled off the blankets.

“You Irish little fuck!” Louis cursed, growling in annoyance, as he got to his feet to smack Niall.

Niall’s eyes widened as he dropped the pillow and the blanket, jumping on top of his own bed.

“I’m sorry! But there’s a letter for you!” He tried to explain, his hands up in surrender.

Louis dropped his hands, with which he was previously going to punch Niall, and furrowed his eyebrows.

“What letter?” He asked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, sulking.

Mornings really weren’t his thing.

“It was lying on the ground, by our door, and it’s got your name on it.” Niall elaborated, climbing off his bed when he was positive Louis wouldn’t kill him.

“I’m surprised you haven’t opened it yet,” Louis commented, an eyebrow raised, as he walked towards their door to have a look at this letter that spoiled his sleep.

“I was tempted, but you know, I’m a nice person who understands privacy and all that,” Niall grinned, following Louis, at his heels, eagerly waiting for Louis to open the letter.

Louis snorted at Niall’s self-praise, shaking his head.

He picked up the white little letter, which read ‘ _LOUIS_ ’ in green ink.

“The sender also wrote your name in your favourite colour,” Niall went on, peaking his head from Louis’ shoulder, his eyes wide as he stared at the letter.

Louis frowned at it, examining it like it was some treasure.  
“Come on,” Niall urged, tapping Louis’ shoulder, at which Louis glared in return, before slowly opening the letter.

“ _Woahhh_ ,”

“Shut up, Niall,” Louis sighed at his best mate, who currently looked like he had seen the best sight in the world.

Inside, was a blue coloured blank chit, and Louis cocked his head to one side, in deep thought.

He then turned the chit around and raised his eyebrows at what he saw.

If laughter is the best medicine, your face must be curing the world.

It read.

“Hey, that’s offensive, and your face isn’t even _that_ bad,” Niall commented seriously, and Louis smacked the side of his head for that.

But he wasn’t offended. Not at all.

Okay, maybe just one bit.

But he knew exactly who had sent it, and so, he grinned.

“What’re you smiling for? I swear, you get a little weird sometimes, Tommo,” Niall shook his head, a confused look on his face as he stared at Louis.

Louis. Who was smiling, his mind definitely not in the room.

“Oi, mate, come off it, and tell me what it is,” Niall frowned, smacking Louis’ chest playfully, but Louis only shook his head, a slight smile on his face.

Niall mumbled a series of confused ‘ _what the fuck_ ’s but didn’t push it.

*

“Did you tell him my favourite colour?” Louis asked, as Zayn came in sight, his phone in his hand.

“Tell whom? Who’s ‘him’?” Zayn asked, confused, as he looked at Louis with a frown.

“Ha—Styles,” He caught himself, internally scolding himself for almost calling his sworn enemy by his first name.

“No?” Zayn spoke, still confused, staring at Louis with furrowed eyebrows, shrugging.

“No?” Louis repeated for confirmation, a slight frown mirroring Zayn’s on his face.

“Yeah, no,” Zayn confirmed, running a hand through his hair.

“You gonna tell me what this is about?” He urged, an eyebrow raised in question.  
“How does he know my favourite colour then?” Louis asked Zayn, completely ignoring Zayn’s question.

“If you’re not gonna tell me, how am I supposed to know? God, Lou,” Zayn shook his head, annoyed already, as he bit his lip, waiting for Louis to answer.

“Zayn!” Liam shouted, running towards the two of them, catching up as quickly, resting a hand on Zayn’s shoulder as he panted softly.

“Hey, Liam,” Zayn smiled, and there it was again. That look Liam got when Zayn smiled at him.

And Louis raised both his eyebrows, muttering a quiet “damn,” which none of them caught, as he stared at their silent exchange.

He took the opportunity to slip away quietly from them, avoiding all their questions as they got lost in each other’s eyes.

He’ll have to ask Liam about that later, but for now, he was sprinting to Harry’s dorm.

*

He knocked violently as he waited. But then, what was he going to say once Harry opened the door?

Well, shit, he obviously hadn’t thought this through.

The door opened, to reveal a very sleepy Harry, who only had his lower half covered with grey sweatpants, his abs on full display, along with the tattoos and everything.

“Why are you so sleepy?” Louis questioned, confused.

If Harry was the one who put the chit, why would he be asleep now? That didn’t make any sense.

“What do you mean why am I so sleepy? Maybe cause I was sleeping and you woke me up?” Harry spoke, irritated and groggy, as he rubbed his eyes with a pout.

“Oh,” Louis spoke, confused and a little disheartened (why?), as he stepped away from Harry’s door.

“Well, now that I’m awake, what are you here for?” Harry continued, leaning against the threshold of his door sideways, his arms crossed in front of his bare chest.

“Um, well, see, it’s kind of a misunderstanding?” Louis said, more like a question as he gave him a sheepish smile.

“A misunderstanding?” Harry repeated, asking Louis to elaborate.

“Yeah, uh, never mind. Good night!” Louis barely finished speaking as he rushed from there, panting as he reached his own room.

Phew.

Well, if it wasn’t Styles, that definitely complicated matters. He had a hater?

“At least tell me what’s going on _now_?” Niall pleaded, waiting, as Louis opened the door to step inside.

“I actually don’t know. I thought it was Styles, but it’s not him.” Louis frowned, sitting down on his bed, waiting for niall to respond.

“Well, so you have a hater who isn’t Harry.” Niall concluded, his eyebrows raised.

“Yeah,” Louis shrugged, a little saddened.

He wasn’t _that_ bad, was he? Did he deserve the hate?

And now he’s really offended, because if it was Styles, it was one thing, but it’s not. And his face, which is beautiful, mind you, feels violated.

“Who is it then?” He asked, more to himself as he gave it a thought.

“I don’t know, mate. I don’t think there’s anyone who dislikes you.” Niall said, sounding equally disappointed.

“But apparently, there is,” Louis shrugged, sighing, as he ran a hand through his hair.

“We’ll find out, Lou, don’t worry, and you’re awesome, so don’t doubt yourself,” Niall offered Louis a genuine smile, nodding his head encouragingly.

And Louis’ didn’t burst into tears, but he might as well have, as he practically pounced to hug the life out of Niall.

*

“So, what’s new?” Liam asked Louis with a smile, as he got into their booth, settling down comfortably as they waited for the rest of their friends to arrive.

“What’s new?” Louis snorted, raising an eyebrow.  
“You tell me, Liam,” he smirked, and something about his expression must have given it away, because Liam was staring at his hands, wide eyed as he bit his lip.

“There’s nothing to tell,” Liam mumbled, but then a deep pink rose all the way from his neck to his cheeks, and Louis laughed, surprised.

“You’re really gone for him, aren’t you?” He spoke, a shocked edge to his voice.

Liam winced, shaking his head from side to side, as he rubbed his palms on his jeans.

“Something like that,” he finally spoke, looking at Louis with a hesitant and sheepish smile.

“That’s alright, mate, I approve,” Louis said, as if granting permission, a twinkle in his eye.

“You approve?” Liam laughed, shaking his head as his eyes crinkled.  
“Yeah?” Louis nodded his head genuinely, waiting for Liam to say something.

“Well, thanks, Lou, but Zayn doesn’t approve,” Liam said, and then his smile slowly turned to a sad one, a sigh escaping his lips.

“Did you tell him?” Louis asked gently, cocking his head to one side.

“No!” Liam shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide as he looked at Louis, as if he was trying to tell Louis that he was absolute bollocks for even suggesting that.

“Why not?” Louis questioned, his hands in the air to emphasise.

“Because he obviously doesn’t feel the same, and I don’t want to ruin our friendship,” Liam reasoned, his lips pursed, as he shrugged.

“Ruin whose friendship?” Zayn said with a confused smile, sliding casually into the conversation, making Liam’s eyes go wide.

Louis smirked.  
“Well, Liam here, has a crush,” he spoke, waiting for Zayn’s reaction.

“Oh yeah?” Zayn frowned, a very minute but present jealous tinge to it as he told Liam to move over so that he could fit into the booth too.

Louis raised an eyebrow at Zayn’s sudden change of mood, but grinned because obviously, there was something there. One had to be blind not to see it.

Later then Niall arrived, and so did Harry Styles, late as usual, as he pushed himself in beside Niall, who was beside Louis. So Louis had to squeeze further in and he undoubtedly made a fuss about it.

Throughout breakfast, Zayn had his arm resting behind Liam, on the couch, and Louis kept sending subtle smirks Liam’s way, who only shook his head as discreetly as possible, but that blush, it never left his cheeks.

*

“How does it feel to cure the world?” Harry asked, as they were heading back to their respective dorms, a smirk on his face.

“Cure the world?” Louis frowned, not following Harry’s words at all, as he continued walking.

Harry laughed, giving Louis a dimpled smile as he said: “You know, I’m a great actor,”

Louis raised an eyebrow in question.  
“And you’re telling me that because...?” Louis trailed off, genuinely confused.

“You’re so daft, Tomlinson,” Harry chuckled, before increasing his pace and walking to his dorm, leaving Louis behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


	7. Chapter 7

 

**VII**

 

“What the fuck,” Louis muttered, staring at the letter lying on the ground.

Same cover, same handwriting, probably one more insult inside it.

He hesitantly picked it up, quickly glancing back at Niall who was drooling in his sleep.

Opening the seal, he licked his lips, trying to prepare for what was to come.

It was blue coloured again, blank on one side, but he knew he had to turn it around, and so he did.

_What language are you speaking? Cause it sounds like bullshit._

Louis almost choked on his own spit. Now _that_ was funny.

He thought he could probably use that somewhere.

But once again he was reminded that it wasn’t Harry, and that did make him a little upset, but he wasn’t going to let it get to him.

“Niall, wake up,” he said, patting Niall’s shoulder, as Niall made a dismissive motion with his hand. Basically, he was telling Louis to fuck off, and that was... normal, to be honest.

Louis grinned, putting the letter aside, as he rubbed his palms together, grinning mischievously, and pulling Niall’s blanket off him in one single go.

Niall whined, making grabby hands without opening his eyes, hoping he’ll get the blanket back.

Louis laughed, almost evilly, at Niall’s reaction, but shook his head, throwing the blanket on his own bed which was across from Niall.

“Damn you, you wanker,” Niall groaned, sitting up on his bed, glaring at Louis.

“What can I say,” Louis sighed, satisfied as he grinned at his beat best mate.

“Was that payback?” Niall questioned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Louis nodded, a twinkle in his eye as he grinned widely.

“Yeah yeah, okay fine, now it’s equal,” Niall rolled his eyes, standing up to stretch, still yawning.

“Hey, what’s that?” He asked, his gaze falling on the second letter, as he abruptly stopped stretching.

“Yeah, that’s... a second one,” Louis muttered, dropping his gaze to the floor.

But when Niall sighed, his tone laced with warmth as he said, “Lou,”, Louis immediately looked up and almost shouted, “But this one’s funny, I swear!”

Niall raised an eyebrow in question.  
“Well, what does it say?”

“Go look for yourself,” Louis said, waving a hand towards the letter, motioning Niall to open it.

Niall did. Opened it, I mean, and then he laughed.

“You can use this on Harry,” Niall suggested, still chuckling.

“Oh, I definitely will,” Louis laughed along, his eyes crinkling.

*

“Ay, Styles, what’s up, mate?” Louis shouted, his voice that was literally almost one hallway away (meaning, Louis was at one end of the hallway, and Harry was at the other, you know), making Harry turn around from some girl he was talking to.

Harry raised an eyebrow, whispering in the girl’s ear to which she nodded a bit too over-enthusiastically, according to Louis, and then Harry started walking towards Louis.

“Oh, wow, sir, this early in the morning? To what do I owe the pleasure?” Harry shouted back, sarcasm and humour mixed in his voice as he made his way to Louis.

“Well, you know, just wanted to talk to my best mate!” Louis grinned, slapping Harry’s shoulder. And usually such a gesture is friendly and light, but Louis fucking slapped him on the shoulder. Hard. And Harry sarcastically grinned at that, making Louis chuckle as they kept up the act.

“Can you idiots stop shouting this early in the morning?” Zayn’s voice was heard as he peeped out of his dorm door, clad in sweatpants and nothing else.  
“It’s a fucking nuisance, I swear,” he further muttered, and Louis had to control his laughter which almost bubbled out of him.

“You’re just worried Liam will wake up,” Harry commented smugly, a smirk on his face.

Zayn’s eyes widened for a second, but that man is known for hiding emotions and so, as soon as it came, it was gone.

“Well, I wouldn’t want a peacefully sleeping person to wake up because of people who’re shouting. _Especially_ if the ‘people’ are you two,” Zayn shrugged, closing the door.

“Tomlinson, why are you here to annoy me this early in the morning?” Harry asked, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I’m sorry, what language are you speaking? Cause it sounds like bullshit,” Louis completed, proud; once he found out who the bastard sending him letters was, he would definitely pat him on the back for coming up with such creative insults.

“Ah, Louis ‘the Tommo’ Tomlinson, that’s what you call yourself right?” Harry pretended to think, a mock expression on his face as he tapped his finger on his chin repeatedly.

“I always took you as an original guy, but I guess not!” Harry laughed, looking down at Louis who had both his eyebrows raised in astonishment.

“At least thank the person who you stole this from,” Harry continued, a very smug smirk on his face as he waited for Louis to react to that.

“I didn’t _steal_ it, I _used_ it, there’s a difference,” Louis mocked with words Harry had once said, narrowing his eyes and taking a step towards the curly lad.

“Aw, come on, man! At least give me some credit! That line was amazing!” Harry laughed.

And Louis froze.

“Hold on a second. Did you just ask me to give _you_ some credit?” Louis narrowed his eyes at Harry, who muttered a curse and covered his mouth with his palm.

“So it _is_ you! Fucking bastard!” Louis shouted, pushing at Harry’s chest with both his palms.

Harry grabbed both of Louis’ wrists and held him there.

“Yeah, yeah, okay, it was me.” He admitted, looking into Louis’ eyes.

“Do you know how stressed I was after finding out that it apparently _wasn’t_ you?” Louis frowned, attempting to kick Harry in the shins but he couldn’t really move because his hands were stuck, Styles was holding them in place.

“I thought: does anyone really hate me?” Louis continued, struggling against Harry’s hold.

“No one hates you more than I do,” Harry spoke, and suddenly he didn’t sound like he was joking, and the word ‘hate’ didn’t really sound like the strongest level of dislike either. Harry stared at Louis, no, his eyes penetrated into Louis, staring deep into his soul.

“Good,” Louis breathed, because that’s how it’s supposed to be. Harry is supposed to hate Louis and Louis is supposed to hate Harry. That’s how it has always been and that’s how it’ll always be.

“Yeah, good,” Harry spoke absentmindedly, as his hands, with a mind of their own, traveled to Louis’ cheeks to cup them gently.

Louis was in a trance. He really didn’t understand what was happening, but he wasn’t entirely opposed to it either (don’t tell Niall that).

His mouth was left agape as he stared into those emerald greens, captivated.

And that was ridiculous! Impossible!

Louis pulled away from Harry completely, maintaining a distance of an outstretched hand between them.

“Gotta go,” Harry suddenly said, his eyes wide as he bolted out of there before Louis could even utter a word.

Later when Niall asked Louis where he had been and if he had found out something, Louis only shook his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> :)
> 
> my twitter: @honeyitsnapchat


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